By Tracy Hager
FOUNTAIN CITY, WI (June 18, 2010) – In what started out to be a very questionable day for weather and track conditions, it turned out to be a full night of excellent racing with the program ending by 10:30. A remarkably smooth track greeted drivers at Mississippi Thunder Speedway for the sixth event of the season sponsored by Severson Sinclair of Winona.

Donny Ganz collected his second feature win this season in the Jailhouse Saloon WISSOTA Street Stocks in the feature that went flag to flag. Erik Kanz stepped up his program which sent him to victory for the first time this season in the EngineStore.com USRA B-Mods.

Gary Wiersgalla turned his eighth place starting spot into another feature win in the Winona Auto Sales WISSOTA Super Stock feature. Jay Ihrke moved to a quick lead to win his third feature at Mississippi Thunder Speedway in the Rivercity Manufacturing USRA Modified division.

Mike Krause made it two in a row in the Hornets while Jeff Matejka topped the 600 Mini Mod field. Alex Williamson was a repeat winner in the A Mini Mods, and Jackson Hale took the win in the B Mini Mod division. Winona Radio Driver of the Week for June 4th was Ben Anderson who runs very competitively in the USRA B-Mod division.

GANZ GRABS SECOND FEATURE WIN!

The WISSOTA Street Stock feature started off in near perfect fashion as Tyler Sass and Michael Knudtson led into the flag. But by the end of the front stretch, it was a three-way battle for the lead. Knudtson took the lead early over Rick Lisowski when Fred Prudoehl jumped at a chance for second with Lisowski. Donny Ganz moved quickly to third, and Dan Bork followed putting Lisowski back to fifth. Knudtson continued the lead followed by Prudoehl and Ganz. Prudoehl made a run to the inside of Knudtson for the lead when Ganz set himself up to take the lead from Knudtson. Ganz and Knudtson charged ahead while Prudoehl held off Bork for third. Ganz laid some ground between himself and Knudston. Danny Hanson gained energy and moved into fourth place behind Bork. Ganz kept up the pace in the lead followed by Knudtson. Hanson finally cleared Bork for third and moved on to Knudtson. Lap traffic spiced things up a bit, but Ganz cleared the way to victory lane for the second time this season. Hanson finished second followed by Knudtson, Lisowski, and Bork in the caution-free feature.

KANZ FENDS OFF FRIEND AND FOE FOR FIRST FEATURE WIN!

Previous winners in the USRA B-Mods, Brandon Hare and Ben Anderson sat atop the field for the main event. Hare jetted to the lead, but was immediately chased by Anderson and Erik Kanz. Hare, Anderson, and Kanz vied for the lead while Jimmy Broszeit shot into fourth. Kanz tried the high line around Hare, but Hare held his ground. Kanz made another attempt on Hare and made it stick to take over the lead. Hare was left to fend off Anderson for second place. A caution reset the field with Kanz, Hare, Anderson, Broszeit, and Troy Langowski in the top five. Langowski made a play for third on Hare, but Hare shot back. Langowski made another attempt, and finally made it work to take over third behind Kanz and Anderson. A caution for Brian Schrage’s machine going up in smoke restarted the field with Kanz, Anderson, Langowski, and Hare up front. Caution four slowed the field when Jack Baehman was stopped by the wall. With three laps to go, six cars remained in play. Kanz made his final restart and was able to hold the rest back for his first feature win this season. Anderson, Langowski, Hare, and Broszeit finished out the top five.

WIERSGALLA WINS ANOTHER!

Kevin Hager led the WISSOTA Super Stocks with Tim Williamson outside pole. Two no-shows for the feature dipped the field to eight cars. An early caution in turn one ended when Jon Duffy and Tommy Richards headed off on the hook, and Jeff Brauer headed to the back of the small field. A complete restart had Hager and Williamson side by side for the lead as Gary Wiersgalla and Bob Fort ran side by side for third place. Wiersgalla quickly jumped into a three-way race for the lead. Hager hit a rut out of turn three which dropped him to third as Williamson took the lead followed by Wiersgalla. Fort charged by Hager into third place while Wiersgalla slipped under Willamson for the lead by lap five. Wiersgalla put some distance on Williamson as Fort crawled up on second place. Phillips, Wisconsin’s Colin Polacek followed Hager in fifth place. Fort finally gained second place, but it was not an easy task as Williamson held a firm grip on the spot. Wiersgalla continued his lead followed by Fort and Williamson. Hager was followed by Polacek, but Polacek dropped to the infield with issues which put Brauer in fifth place. Wiersgalla tallied another win followed by Fort, Williamson, Hager, and Brauer.

IHRKE SURVIVES THE CHALLENGES FOR THIRD FEATURE WIN!

Ron Konkel and Ryan York set the pace in the USRA Modified main event. Konkel assumed the front spot while Bob Timm, Josh Angst, and York were in a quick three-wide battle for second place. Jay Ihrke moved into the top five and quickly took over second behind Konkel. Timm, York, and Angst battled for third place. Ihrke climbed up on Konkel as the two went head to head for the lead. Timm peeled away for third place, and Angst took over fourth ahead of York. At the half-way mark of the race, Ihrke led the field followed by Timm, Angst, and York. Timm gained ground on Ihrke’s lead by lap 15, but Ihrke maintained the spot. A caution at lap 20 reset the pack for a five-lap shootout to the finish. Ihrke was able to hold off Timm for the win. Angst finished third followed by Andy Bohnstengel in fourth. A late race surge nearly saw Hank Rollinger nip the top five, but York beat Rollinger to the line.

KRAUSE COLLECTS SECOND FEATURE WIN!

Brad Duellman shot to an early lead over Jay Mensink in the Hornet feature. Ron Jablonske settled into third place while being chased by Mike Krause. Krause worked his way under Mensink for second place, but Mensink made a grand attempt at sneaking under Krause to gain the spot back to no avail. Duellman continued his strong lead, but Krause closed in on Duellman for the lead. Jablonske lost a tire which brought out the caution. A few others fell from competition during the caution which left four cars running; Krause, Duellman, Guy Hamernik, and Bonnie Jablonske. Krause grabbed his second win in as many nights at MTS this season followed by Duellman, Hamernik, and Jablonske.

MATEJKA SILENCES THE OPOSITION WITH ANOTHER FEATURE WIN!

Jeff Matejka clipped the field of Oakridge Fabrication 600 Mini Mods in their feature race. Charlie McNally finished second followed by Joe Jasnoch, Bruce Schmitt, and Don Werner.

MINI-MOD MADNESS BRINGS TWO FEATURE WINNERS!

Alex Williamson added to his win list that keeps growing in the A Mini Mod feature. Brandon Reutzel, Alex Stevens, Mike Stevens, and Jerome Kellner rounded out the top five. Jackson Hale topped the field of seven in the B Mini Mod feature. Garrett Koster, Matthew Stevens, Spencer Ihrke, Hendrik Welti capped the top five.

The USMTS will blow into the speedway June 25th for a $2000-to-win show sponsored by Fastenal and Stone Machinery. Also running will be the WISSOTA Street Stocks, USRA B-Mods, 600 Mini Mods, A Mini Mods, and B Mini Mods. Nine-time USMTS Champion Kelly Shryock will pilot the MTS NAPA Two-Seater Modified for one lucky fan. Tickets can be purchased that night for $2 through the heat races.

Thursday, July 1st will be the first WISSOTA Street Stock Summer Nationals and will include WISSOTA Late Models as well as USRA B-Mods. The Dart WISSOTA Late Model Challenge Series will make its appearance at the speedway on Friday, July 2nd. Stay tuned to the track website for additional class information. Join us for two nights of WISSOTA Late Model action along with great competition in the others as well.